the rise of civilization.ppt

7/28/2019 The Rise of Civilization.ppt

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Continued from August 26th

The Rise ofCivilizationAnd the Art of the Ancient Near East

Contributed by David Badgley to The Metropolitan Museum of ArtsBeyond Babylon online teacher workshop, January 22March 1, 2009.


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Mesopotamia = Greek for land between the rivers

The Ancient Near East consists of these modern day

countries: Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Iraq.

Neolithic cultures preferred the uplands whereas

Civilization brought mankind to the valley floor and riverbeds.


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What is Civilization?

Organized Government Organized Religion

Gods;Teachers/leaders; and Places ofWorship

Organized Economy

Arts, Culture & Traditions Monumental Works; Music; Theater; Painting;

Sculpture; methods of preparing food

Technological Advancement

Permanent Settlement

System of Writing Record keeping; education; Communication;

Literature


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In about 3300 B.C.E.

writing was invented in

Mesopotamia maybe in the city of Uruk,

where a lot of the earliest

inscribed clay tablets have

been found. Writing was not an isolated

development

but happened during a period

of profound transformations in politics, economy, and

representational art.


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Early writing was usedmost for recording and

storing economicinformation

Signs were drawn with areed stylus on pillow-

shaped tablets, most were only a few

inches wide.

The stylus created smallmarks in the clay called cuneiform, or

wedge-shaped, writing.


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This tablet most likely documents graindistributed by a large temple

but because there are no verbs in early texts it isdifficult to interpret the tablets with certainty.

The seal impression depicts a male figureguiding two dogs on a leash and hunting or

herding boars in a marsh environment.


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Interior view of an important document Exterior view of the same important document

Notice the summary written about what the document is about

The document is authentic because it as been signed

by using a cylinder seal.


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Is Writing Important?

What kinds of written records

might be important to you or

your parents?

Did you pay your taxes? Are you legally married?

How many people live in your

city?

Is your Doctor, Lawyer orclergy qualified to do their

jobs?

Your high school diploma?


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http://www.upennmuseum.com/cuneiform.cgi
http://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_4/to%20inscribe%20your%20name%20click%20this%20linkhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_4/to%20inscribe%20your%20name%20click%20this%20link


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These images are what some of our letters look like when

converted to cuneiform


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The beginning of

writing, takes its

name from the

wedge-shaped

signs or pictographs

(simplified pictures).

Cuneiform


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Cuneiform tablet and case with a

record of court testimony describinga dispute over the ownership of a

business firmOld Assyrian Colony; 1920-1840 B.C.E. Anatolia, Kultepe (Karum Kanesh)

Clay; 7 5/16 x 3 9/16 x 1 3/4 in. (18.5 x 9 x 4.5 cm)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Klejman, 1966 (66.245.5b) Collection of Metropolitan Museum,

New York


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Think of a recent conflictthat needed to be resolved.

Invent a system of writingthat you will use to recordthis event.

If your life is conflict free,

then invent a system ofwriting to record a secret

Create a document

Carve a cylinder seal toensure authenticity andsecurity

Apply the seal


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Resourceshttp://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.britarch.ac.uk/yac/branches/bridgend/images/cuneiform%2520t

able.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.britarch.ac.uk/yac/branches/bridgend/2004.htm&usg=__bxFZTOsT4MlMf7DBXOhlfSt

BhLQ=&h=258&w=531&sz=24&hl=en&start=12&um=1&tbnid=IvndrCMooUV8OM:&tbnh=64&tbnw=132&prev=/imag

es%3Fq%3Dcuneiform%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DN

http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/ancient_near_eastern_art/cuneiform_tablet_and_cas

e_with_a_record_of_court_testimony/objectview.aspx?page=1&sort=0&sortdir=asc&keyword=cuneiform&fp=1&dd1

=3&dd2=0&vw=1&collID=3&OID=30008409&vT=1

http://www.nlcs.k12.in.us/oljrhi/brown/mesopotamia/meso.htm

Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art. "Geography of Mesopotamia". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New

York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/m_wam/hd_m_wam.htm

(October 2002)
http://www.nlcs.k12.in.us/oljrhi/brown/mesopotamia/meso.htmhttp://www.nlcs.k12.in.us/oljrhi/brown/mesopotamia/meso.htm

the rise of civilization.ppt

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